Connection clip



R. S. MUELLER CONNECTION CLIP Filed April 25, 1921 Patented Jan. 6, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT caries.

RALPH S. MUELLER, OF CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, O'EIO, ASSIGNO R TO MUELLER ELEC- TRIO COMPANY, A PARTNERSHIP COMPOSED OF K. MUELLER.

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To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, RALPH- S. MU'EILER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland Heights, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Connection Clips, of which the following is .a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to electrical connection clips which are commonly employed at the present time for making temporary electrical connections such a for testing purposes, and generally consist of two members connected to ether at the rear end of the clip, and provlded with forward crossed portions having jaws which are pressed together or-toward each other by a spring located between and acting on the two members at the rear of the crossed-portions so as to spread them apart.

It has been found with the clip most commonly employed, that the current does not at all times-pass equally through both members of the chp from one end thereof to the other, i. e. from the rear end of the clip to which the conductor is attached to the conductor gripped by the j aws,or from the jaws to' the rear end of the clip. In other words, if, due to corrosion, oxidation or other causes, one'member of the clip becomes wholly or partially insulated at the pivot or joint from the other member to which the electric conductor is attached, the current will ass forwardly along.one'memher of the chp, and apart or all the current will pass through the spring to the other member which is insulated at the pivot or joint, the amount of current passing through 1 the spring under these circumstances,

L pending upon the degree of. insulation at the joint or pivot between the rear portions of the two members of the clip, and tolan"ex tent upon whether both jaws have the same degree of conductivity with the conductor which the jaws engage. r p

The passage o current throu h the sprin as above e lained, is undesira le inasmuc as it heats t e spring, weakens it, and thereby reduces the efi'ectiveness of the clip. One of the objects of the invention is to provide anefiective means for protecting the spring against passage of current there- 'th g r sp tive of the conductivity of the joint or pivot between the two members of the clip. Further the invention aims to accomplish thisresult not only in an effective, but also in an inexpensive manner.

In another aspect the invention relates to certain improvements in the shape or form of the conductor ripping portions of the jaws, the aim of e invention in this particular aspect being to give the jaws a shape such that they are better adapted than the ordinary serrated jaws to be readily clamped onto a fairly large conductor, such as the terminal post of a storage battery, and so that the clip will remain in position with respect to the part that without danger of the clip falling or swlngr ing from the position in which it was. im-

tlally'placed, usually in alignment with the v conductor.

The invention may be briefly summarized as cons sting in certain novel details of construction, and combinations and arran ements of parts which will be described m t e specification and set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred form the clip to which my improvements can be advantageously applied, this view showing the cllp provided with my improved spring protector in the form of a shunt; Fig. 2 is a view of the same, partly in side elevation and partly in longitudinal section; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the same; Fig. 4 is a detached view of the shunt or spring protector; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the jaws showing one. form or embodiment of my invention in theshape of the jaws, the jaws being slightly spread apart; Fig. 6 is an end view looking toward the jaws with the jaws similarly spreadand showing a slight modification over the con struction shown in Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a side view with the clipin vertical position clamped to an upright conductor, this view servlng to illustrate the function of the jaws shaped as in Figs. 5 or 6; and Fig. 8 is a. sectional view along the line 8-8 looking in the direction of the arrows, and illustrating, simply by way-of example, the

-;jaws shown in Fig. 6..

Referring now tothe drawings, it will be observed that the clip is composed of RALPH s. MUELLER AND morn it grips I clip by providing slots 12 along the sides and near the rear end of the part 10, and

by providing tongues 13 on the companion parh ri'fwhieh extend through the slots 12 and are bent forwardly, this being the type of pivotal 'oint or articulation illustrated in patent to eorge B. Dusinberre, No. 963,425, of which patent I am sole owner.

lhe part 10 has an extension 14 which 7 projects rearwardly beyond the pivotal connection or joint of the two parts 10 and 11, and to this extension the end of an electrical conductor is adapted to be secured, in this case by a binding screw 15. -F'urthermore, the body portions of both mem bers 10 and- 11 have inturned flanges 16, and at their forward ends they are provided with channel-shaped necks 17 which are crossed, as shown, the necks terminating in forward jaws 18 which are pressed yield' ingly together by a spring, in this instance a coil spring 19, located between the flan es of the members 10 and 11, justrearwar ly of the necks 17.

The clip so far described, is and has been sold by me for some time, and is used very extensively. v

Coming now to the improvements constituting the subject matter of the present invention, to protect the spring 19 against the passage of'current therethrough, ll provide a protector in the form of a shunt 20, consisting of a strip of good conducting material which lies inside the member 11 shunt 20 against the clip member 11, and from the spring the shunt 20'extends rearwardly along the member 11, across the.

jointorpivot point between the members 10.and--11,- the rear end of the shunt lying alon the face of the" extension 14 of the meniber '1(),- and being clamped 00d electrical contact therewith by means 0 the binding screw 15. This shunt has notches 21 which register with the notches 12 0f the member 10 of the "clip, and at its-rear end has a hole 22 to "accommodate-the binding I screw 15..

It will be observed thatthe' 'eilect of this shunt istoelectrically connectthe member 10 to the member 11 around or in shunt to the spring 19, and to provide a conducting path from the'extension 1a of the member 10 to the member- 11, which is independent contact at the joint or'pivot two members 10 and 11.

It-wi 'be seen that since thisshunt is firmly attached at its rear end to the extension 14, and at its forward end is pressed tightly against the clip member 11, current will pass substantially equally along both between the menace efliciency of the pivotal joint between the I members 10 and 11 for current conducting purposes, and that no current will pass through the spring 10 from one member of the clip to the'other if the jaws are both in good engagement with the conductor to which the clip is clamped. The members 10 and 11 of the clip are preferably formed of sheet steel which may be lead coated if used as a test clip in connection with storage batteries, and the shunt 20 is preferably formed of cop-per which may be likewiselead coated. I

In so far as the shunt or spring protector is concerned, the forward conductor gripping portions of the jaws may assume any form, such as the ordinary toothed or serrated shape or'forma I prefer, however, that these portions of the,jaws be shaped either as illustrated in Fig. 5, or in Figs. 6 and 8, to more efiectively adapt the clip for certain uses, as when it is desired that the clip grip a round or tapered conductor and remain in the position in which it was initially placed, which may be a position of alignment with the conductor, such as the conductor 24 of Figs. 7 and 8, irrespective of whether the clip stands in vertical position, as in-Fig. 7, or in any other position.

7 and 8, as for example, the upright terminal of a storage battery, without llability, and the probability that the clip will fall over, instead of standing, in an upright position. To render the clip self-sustaining as far as-remaining in its original and desired position is concerned, 1 give. at least one :of the jaws. a novel shape other than the toothed or serrated shape. In Fig. 5,

.one jaw 18. has a current'engaging portion formed by anint-urned .lip' with a large number of teeth or serrations 25 of usual form, and the other jaw 18 has the middle portion of the lip fully cut away, as shown at 26, leaving at the corners of the 'aw only a pair of inwardly projecting teet 27. In Fig. 6 both jaws 18 are formed like the lower jaw of Fig. 5, i. e. with the inwardly projecting corner teeth 27 andwith the intermediate single large gap 26.

of the jaws provided with the corner teeth With eith r the construction shown in and intermediate wide notch, the connection with the conductor, from an electrical standpoint, is very efiective, and at the same timethe full notched jar! or jaws sufiiciently embrace 'a'fairly large conductor and the conductor is so held between the corner teeth that it will stand in its original position Without swinging by gravity from that position, irrespective of the direction in which the conductor extends, such, for example, as horizontal or vertical.

It will be seen, therefore, that I have provided two distinct improvements considerable merit which are capable of conjoint or separate use in a connection clip. Furthermore, while I have shown my improvements embodied in a clip of well-known make, I do not desire to be confined to the precise details shown, as the parts, particularly certain of them, may

be otherwise shaped and connected.

Having described my invention, I claim: 1. An electrical connection clip comprising two pivotally connected clip members, a

spring acting on both members for pressing the jaws yieldingly together, and means for protecting the spring against the passage of current therethrough comprising a shunt independent of the pivot forming means and electrically connected to both members. 2. An electrical connection clip composed of two connected members having jaws, one member having means for. receiving an electric conductor, a spring for imposing tension in the jaws, and a protector for the spring comprising a shunt extending across the joint from one member to the other both members.

3. A connection clip composed of two connected clip members with jaws and a spring for imposing tension in the jaws, one of the members having an extension to which extending between the members for imposing tension in the jaws, and a protector for the spring comprising a shunt having one end attached to one'member and its other end held by the spring into engagement with the other member.

5. An electrical connection clip composed of two connected members having jaws, a. spring extending between the two members for imposing tension .in the jaws, and a shunt connected to one of said members extending across the joint between the two members and held by the spring into good electrical contact with the other member.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature.

RALPH S. MUELLER.

and electrically connected to, or engaging v 

